University City, San Diego, California
Encyclopedia
University City is a community in San Diego, California
, located in the northwestern portion of the city next to the University of California, San Diego
. It is also often mistakenly referred to as UTC, short for University Towne Center
, which is actually a shopping mall in the community.
, from which the area derives its name, is to the west of the center of the neighborhood. Many of the professors teaching at UCSD live in the UC neighborhood.
There are two distinct parts of University City divided by Rose Canyon, featuring the Rose Canyon Open Space preserve, and railroad tracks passing through it. South of Rose Canyon lies the older part of University City, built in the 1960s and historically referred to as University Square, centered on Governor Drive. It is a mostly residential neighborhood along Governor Drive with many single family homes. Just southwest of the Governor Drive exit from I-805 is a commercially zoned area containing office parks with low-rise buildings. South UC was developed primarily in the 1960s and 70s.
The newer part of University City lies north of Rose Canyon; it is usually referred to as University Towne Centre (UTC). The entire area has also been nicknamed the "Golden Triangle" by commercial developers.
The topography of University City includes mesas and canyons such as Rose Canyon, San Clemente Canyon, and finger canyons that provide much of the open space. The canyons provide wildlife habitats with about 100 bird species migrating through the area plus natural views and opportunities for hiking, biking, and birding. The canyons are fire-managed and thus present small wildfire risks. In addition, motorists drive around the canyons, with I-5, Genessee Ave, and the I-805 being about 1 mile apart from each other.
and California Least Tern
which are considered endangered and listed federally as threatened species.
The flora of the Rose Canyon is known for its vernal pools. The pools are located on the East end of the canyon adjacent to the Marine Corps Air Station Miramar (MCAS Miramar). Endemic endangered species have included the Orcutt's brodiaea (Brodiaea orcuttii), San Diego button celery (Eryngium aristulatum parishii), San Diego golden star (Muilla clevelandii), spreading navarretia (Navarretia fossalis), prostrate navarretia (Navarretia prostrata), California adder's tongue fern (Ophioglossum californicum), California Orcutt grass (Orcuttia californica), and San Diego Mesa Mint (Pogogyne abramsii).
Besides containing three local shopping centers, there is also a large regional shopping mall referred to as UTC. This University Towne Center shopping mall
is located north of Regents Road in University City. It is anchored by Sears, Nordstrom
and Macy's
. The north-eastern mesas of University City started to be developed for industrial and corporate use in 1991, and are home to several biotech, computer and financial companies. The northern part of University City also contains two major hospitals, Scripps Memorial and UCSD's Thornton Hospital, with surrounding medical office buildings. North UC was developed primarily in the 1980s and 90s, and rapid growth and development continue. The UTC region was the site of a 2003 fire bombing of a condominium complex, causing 50 million dollars in damage to the Crossroads condominiums The ostensible reason for the bombing concerned the over-development of the UTC area.
Housing prices average in the 500,000s, ranging from about 300,000 to 1+ million Univ. City also has some parks, three elementary schools, 1 junior high school, 1 high school, a police and a fire station.
A local strip mall at Governor and Genesee is anchored by a Vons
grocery store and a Rite Aid
pharmacy. Another strip mall anchored by Henry's Marketplace is to the west at Governor and Regents.
station. However, the location has been removed from current consideration.
The only connection between UTC and South UC (not including the bordering 8-lane freeways Interstate 5 and Interstate 805) is the four-lane Genesee Avenue. The City of San Diego also wants to extend Regents Road by building a bridge over Rose Canyon This plan has been strongly opposed by a local group calling itself Friends of Rose Canyon. The argument has been going on for years.
Some residents want the bridge constructed due to the time it takes for emergency vehicles to be transported between southern and northern University City. The fire department claimed that: "A bridge or the widening of Genesee Avenue would shorten response time for emergency vehicles in the neighborhood. It has one of the slowest response times in the city." Along with emergency centers nearby, Rose canyon provides the perfect environment for wildfires in UC. An emergency such as that would require evacuation, which for the citizens of UC would only leave one escape route, Genesee, already one of the busiest streets in the city.
Other residents want to cancel the construction of the bridge due to the disruption to wildlife and the community. The proposed bridge would be across Rose Canyon.
who gave the order to shoot down Iran Air Flight 655
. She escaped the blast. Initially, it was suspected to be a terrorist retaliation for the downing of the airliner, but the investigation shifted away from this hypothesis. At this time, the bombing is still unsolved.
The San Diego California Temple
of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was completed in 1993. It is the 45th operating temple of the LDS Church in the world.
On August 1, 2003, arson, alleged to be eco-terrorism
, destroyed a housing complex under construction at the east side of UTC. Many residents awoke to find popcorn-shaped ashes littering their backyards and streets.
Intuit's consumer tax group was located here until August 2007, when they relocated elsewhere in the city of San Diego.
On December 8, 2008 at approximately 11 AM (PST) a military F/A-18 bound for the nearby military base crashed into several homes destroying them on the southeast corner of Cather Avenue and Huggins Street. The pilot ejected and was not injured. There were at least four civilians killed on the ground by the impact and fire that followed.
schools in University City:
s are recognized as children-friendly, unique in the area:
Some parks and recreation centers are also available:
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, located in the northwestern portion of the city next to the University of California, San Diego
University of California, San Diego
The University of California, San Diego, commonly known as UCSD or UC San Diego, is a public research university located in the La Jolla neighborhood of San Diego, California, United States...
. It is also often mistakenly referred to as UTC, short for University Towne Center
Westfield UTC
Westfield UTC, formerly University Towne Centre , is an open-air shopping mall in the University City community of San Diego, California. It lies just east of La Jolla, near the University of California, San Diego campus...
, which is actually a shopping mall in the community.
Geography
The campus of the University of California, San DiegoUniversity of California, San Diego
The University of California, San Diego, commonly known as UCSD or UC San Diego, is a public research university located in the La Jolla neighborhood of San Diego, California, United States...
, from which the area derives its name, is to the west of the center of the neighborhood. Many of the professors teaching at UCSD live in the UC neighborhood.
The newer part of University City lies north of Rose Canyon; it is usually referred to as University Towne Centre (UTC). The entire area has also been nicknamed the "Golden Triangle" by commercial developers.
The topography of University City includes mesas and canyons such as Rose Canyon, San Clemente Canyon, and finger canyons that provide much of the open space. The canyons provide wildlife habitats with about 100 bird species migrating through the area plus natural views and opportunities for hiking, biking, and birding. The canyons are fire-managed and thus present small wildfire risks. In addition, motorists drive around the canyons, with I-5, Genessee Ave, and the I-805 being about 1 mile apart from each other.
Neighbors
University City's Neighbors Include:- to the south: ClairemontClairemont, San Diego, CaliforniaClairemont is a suburban neighborhood in northern San Diego.It includes the separate neighborhoods of North Clairemont, South Clairemont, Clairemont Mesa East and Clairemont Mesa West...
- to the west: La JollaLa Jolla, San Diego, CaliforniaLa Jolla is an affluent, hilly seaside resort community, occupying of curving coastline along the Pacific Ocean in Southern California within the northern city limits of San Diego. La Jolla had the highest home prices in the nation in 2008 and 2009; the average price of a standardized...
- to the east: Miramar and Marine Corps Air Station MiramarMarine Corps Air Station MiramarMarine Corps Air Station Miramar , formerly Naval Air Station Miramar is a United States Marine Corps installation that is home to the 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing, which is the aviation element of the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force...
- to the north: Sorrento ValleySorrento Valley, San Diego, CaliforniaSorrento Valley is a neighborhood of San Diego, California. It is located about 15 mi north of Downtown San Diego and its main airport, Lindbergh Field...
and Mira MesaMira Mesa, San Diego, CaliforniaMira Mesa is a large suburb that is part of the city of San Diego, California.Mira Mesa is bordered by Interstate 15 to the east, Interstate 805 to the west, the Los Peñasquitos Canyon to the north and Marine Corps Air Station Miramar, to the south. The west end of Mira Mesa is a business and...
Fauna and Flora
The wildlife in Rose Canyon has over 99 species of birds including the California GnatcatcherCalifornia Gnatcatcher
The California Gnatcatcher, Polioptila californica, is a small 10.8 cm long insectivorous bird which frequents dense coastal sage scrub growth...
and California Least Tern
California Least Tern
The Least Tern is a species of tern that breeds in North America and locally in northern South America. It is closely related to, and was formerly often considered conspecific with, the Little Tern of the Old World...
which are considered endangered and listed federally as threatened species.
The flora of the Rose Canyon is known for its vernal pools. The pools are located on the East end of the canyon adjacent to the Marine Corps Air Station Miramar (MCAS Miramar). Endemic endangered species have included the Orcutt's brodiaea (Brodiaea orcuttii), San Diego button celery (Eryngium aristulatum parishii), San Diego golden star (Muilla clevelandii), spreading navarretia (Navarretia fossalis), prostrate navarretia (Navarretia prostrata), California adder's tongue fern (Ophioglossum californicum), California Orcutt grass (Orcuttia californica), and San Diego Mesa Mint (Pogogyne abramsii).
Economy
University City's economy is anchored by the University of California San Diego campus which forms the north part of the community. Southern areas of University City are composed of a mix of single family homes, a retirement community, and a few condominiums. The north-central area, known as the "UTC" area is composed of a dense mix of condominiums and apartment complexes.Besides containing three local shopping centers, there is also a large regional shopping mall referred to as UTC. This University Towne Center shopping mall
Shopping mall
A shopping mall, shopping centre, shopping arcade, shopping precinct or simply mall is one or more buildings forming a complex of shops representing merchandisers, with interconnecting walkways enabling visitors to easily walk from unit to unit, along with a parking area — a modern, indoor version...
is located north of Regents Road in University City. It is anchored by Sears, Nordstrom
Nordstrom
Nordstrom, Inc. is an upscale department store chain in the United States, founded by John W. Nordstrom and Carl F. Wallin. Initially a shoe retailer, the company today also sells clothing, accessories, handbags, jewelry, cosmetics, fragrances, and in some locations, home furnishings...
and Macy's
Macy's
Macy's is a U.S. chain of mid-to-high range department stores. In addition to its flagship Herald Square location in New York City, the company operates over 800 stores in the United States...
. The north-eastern mesas of University City started to be developed for industrial and corporate use in 1991, and are home to several biotech, computer and financial companies. The northern part of University City also contains two major hospitals, Scripps Memorial and UCSD's Thornton Hospital, with surrounding medical office buildings. North UC was developed primarily in the 1980s and 90s, and rapid growth and development continue. The UTC region was the site of a 2003 fire bombing of a condominium complex, causing 50 million dollars in damage to the Crossroads condominiums The ostensible reason for the bombing concerned the over-development of the UTC area.
Housing prices average in the 500,000s, ranging from about 300,000 to 1+ million Univ. City also has some parks, three elementary schools, 1 junior high school, 1 high school, a police and a fire station.
A local strip mall at Governor and Genesee is anchored by a Vons
Vons
Vons is a southern California and southern Nevada supermarket chain and a division of Safeway Inc. It is headquartered in Arcadia, California, and operates stores under the Vons and Pavilions banners.-Beginning:...
grocery store and a Rite Aid
Rite Aid
Rite Aid is a drugstore chain in the United States and a Fortune 500 company headquartered in East Pennsboro Township, Pennsylvania, near Camp Hill. Rite Aid is the largest drugstore chain on the East Coast and the third largest drugstore chain in the U.S....
pharmacy. Another strip mall anchored by Henry's Marketplace is to the west at Governor and Regents.
Demographics
There is also a demographic divide between UTC (North) and South UC. Residents of South UC tend to be homeowners with a large population of retired persons, partly due to a retirement community (Town Park Villas) east and south of Genesee. UTC which consists primarily of condominiums and townhouses, tends to be younger - young professionals, college graduates and university students. Also, more of the population of North UC rent rather than own their homes. There are several UCSD-owned off-campus housing projects for graduate students.Infrastructure
The Rail Authority has mentioned University City as a possible location for a California High-Speed RailCalifornia high-speed rail
The California High-Speed Rail project is a planned future high-speed rail system in the state of California and headed by the California High-Speed Rail Authority . Initial funding for the project was approved by California voters on November 4, 2008, with the passage of Proposition 1A...
station. However, the location has been removed from current consideration.
The only connection between UTC and South UC (not including the bordering 8-lane freeways Interstate 5 and Interstate 805) is the four-lane Genesee Avenue. The City of San Diego also wants to extend Regents Road by building a bridge over Rose Canyon This plan has been strongly opposed by a local group calling itself Friends of Rose Canyon. The argument has been going on for years.
Regents Road bridge
During the original planning of University City, Regents Road was planned to be connected by a bridge running through Rose Canyon. With so much construction going on at the same time, Regents road was put on hold and was not connected from Governor Dr to Nobel Dr. 40 years later, the canyon is now surrounded by residential neighborhoods.Some residents want the bridge constructed due to the time it takes for emergency vehicles to be transported between southern and northern University City. The fire department claimed that: "A bridge or the widening of Genesee Avenue would shorten response time for emergency vehicles in the neighborhood. It has one of the slowest response times in the city." Along with emergency centers nearby, Rose canyon provides the perfect environment for wildfires in UC. An emergency such as that would require evacuation, which for the citizens of UC would only leave one escape route, Genesee, already one of the busiest streets in the city.
Other residents want to cancel the construction of the bridge due to the disruption to wildlife and the community. The proposed bridge would be across Rose Canyon.
History
On March 10, 1989, a pipe bomb attached to the minivan of a woman exploded while she was driving near the University Towne Center mall. She was the wife of Will C. Rogers III, the captain of the USS VincennesUSS Vincennes
Four United States Navy ships have been named USS Vincennes, after the town of Vincennes, Indiana, site of an important Patriot victory in the American Revolution....
who gave the order to shoot down Iran Air Flight 655
Iran Air Flight 655
Iran Air Flight 655 was a civilian jet airliner shot down by U.S. missiles on 3 July 1988, over the Strait of Hormuz, toward the end of the Iran–Iraq War...
. She escaped the blast. Initially, it was suspected to be a terrorist retaliation for the downing of the airliner, but the investigation shifted away from this hypothesis. At this time, the bombing is still unsolved.
The San Diego California Temple
San Diego California Temple
The San Diego California Temple is the 47th constructed and 45th operating temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Located near the La Jolla community of San Diego, it was built with two main spires, but unique to this temple are four smaller spires at the base of each main spire...
of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was completed in 1993. It is the 45th operating temple of the LDS Church in the world.
On August 1, 2003, arson, alleged to be eco-terrorism
Eco-terrorism
Eco-terrorism usually refers to acts of violence or sabotage committed in support of ecological, environmental, or animal rights causes against persons or their property....
, destroyed a housing complex under construction at the east side of UTC. Many residents awoke to find popcorn-shaped ashes littering their backyards and streets.
Intuit's consumer tax group was located here until August 2007, when they relocated elsewhere in the city of San Diego.
On December 8, 2008 at approximately 11 AM (PST) a military F/A-18 bound for the nearby military base crashed into several homes destroying them on the southeast corner of Cather Avenue and Huggins Street. The pilot ejected and was not injured. There were at least four civilians killed on the ground by the impact and fire that followed.
Education
There are five publicSan Diego City Schools
San Diego Unified School District is the school district of San Diego, California. It was founded in 1854...
schools in University City:
- Marie Curie Elementary School
- John D. Spreckels Elementary School
- Doyle Elementary School
- Standley Middle school
- University City High School (San Diego)University City High School (San Diego)-School Overview:University City High School, located in the University City section of San Diego, California, is a comprehensive, four-year public high school, part of the San Diego Unified School District. The school opened in September 1981. The school, commonly referred to as UC High, ranked...
Culture
- San Diego Public LibrarySan Diego Public LibraryThe San Diego Public Library is a public library system serving the city of San Diego, California.-History:The San Diego Public Library was established on May 19, 1882, by an elected board of library trustees. The first location was rented space in the Commercial Bank building at Fifth and G...
- North University Community Library
- University Community Library
Recreation
Several golf courseGolf course
A golf course comprises a series of holes, each consisting of a teeing ground, fairway, rough and other hazards, and a green with a flagstick and cup, all designed for the game of golf. A standard round of golf consists of playing 18 holes, thus most golf courses have this number of holes...
s are recognized as children-friendly, unique in the area:
- The University City Golf Course has 9 holes, with a par 27. Most holes are about 100 yards (91.4 m) long or less, except the 6th, which is 140 yards (128 m).
Some parks and recreation centers are also available:
- Standley Recreation Center and Park
- Doyle Recreation Center and Park includes an off-leash dog park with two fenced areas to keep large and small dogs separated.
- La Jolla Colony Park
- Rose Canyon Open Space Park